Flippin’ Out
Funniest headline of the day, from nypost.com: “New Jersey opening up COVID-19 vaccine to smokers.” Never a better reason to start the filthy habit. Everybody light up. Question: what’s to stop non-smokers from carrying an empty pack to jump the line? Leave it to government. Why do I suspect that politicians who use the demon weed came up with this?
According to talk radio host Mark Simone, evidence is showing that the capitol rioters used Facebook and not Parler to communicate. Why hasn’t the former been shutdown?
Sometimes names fall through the cracks. I’m sure P.F. Sloan’s must have crossed my path somewhere along the line, but it didn’t stick, I’m embarrassed to say, given his legacy. I would not have discovered him had not it been for a Facebook post about favorite TV theme songs, the type of stuff I love about the site. I don’t understand why the brain trust can’t come up with a way to allow users to block all political posts. Anyway, a woman named Marcy responded to a tune I mentioned with info about the writer. Born in NYC as Phillip Schlein, known as Flip to friends, his dad moved the family to California in the late ‘50’s. He was playing guitar by 13, and met Elvis in a record store, where he was given an impromptu lesson by the King of Rock n Roll. He soon formed a partnership with fellow NY-expatriate Steve Barri. While their own efforts failed to catch fire, they backed Jan and Dean. Sloan sang the falsetto parts on The Little Old Lady from Pasadena, which hit #3 in ‘64. He was part of the Grass Roots before they broke big. He went on to write two of the most iconic songs of the ‘60’s: Eve of Destruction, which hit #1 for Barry McGuire in ’65, and Secret Agent Man, which hit #3 for Johnny Rivers in ’66, both of which are staples of oldies streams. He also wrote She’s a Must to Avoid, which hit #8 for Herman’s Hermits in ’65, and You Baby, which hit #20 for the Turtles in ’66. 16 other of his songs cracked the Billboard Hot 100. Although eleven singles and 13 albums were released in his name, it appears none charted. He also did a number of albums with Barri that seem to have gone nowhere. Jimmy Webb, known for the hits such as Glen Campbell’s By the Time I Get to Phoenix and The Fifth Dimension’s Up, Up and Away, wrote a song titled P.F. Sloan, which has been recorded by The Association, Jennifer Warnes, Jackson Browne in duet with Webb, Rumer and others. Here’s my favorite couplet by Sloan: “…don’t you let the wrong words slip, While kissing persuasive lips…” He passed away in 2015 at 70. His lyrics endure. (Facts from Wiki.) Thanks, Marcy.
From an article at foxnews.com, edited by yours truly: A programmer may lose $260 million worth of bitcoin because he’s forgotten the password he set ten years ago. He’s used eight of the ten tries he’s allowed by the website.
It was another fairly mild January day, sans wind, perfect for doing business curbside. I didn’t have to retreat to the car at all to warm up. My thanks to the Frenchman, who bought the essay collection Down & Out in Paris and London by George Orwell, and to the gentleman who purchased Class Reunion by Rona Jaffe and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, and to the two women who combined to buy three books in Russian; and to the one who donated four books in that language.
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